Tuesday, May 28, 2013

In Praise of Small Space Living... At Least, In SOME Small Spaces!

I thought this Apartment Therapy post hit the nail on the head: Why We Chose a Small Space.


I love to be space-savvy, to not hoard stuff and to be clever about how I fit our family of four into our tiny apartment. However, sometimes, when I am trying to cook a big dinner with no bench space, or attempting to bathe my kids and getting a leg cramp since there's nowhere to sit, I need to remind myself: we chose this. We chose this, and this is why...
Part of the answer, of course, is that space is expensive, and doing without more of it allows you to spend your money and time on other things.

On the flip side, there's this: The Worst Room. This blog has been getting a lot of attention lately, for featuring really tiny, nasty-looking living spaces in NYC, not all of which are even all that cheap! Things like this make me realize once again how relatively luxurious my $850 per month (including gas and electric) 242 square foot studio was. Examples:

East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. $750.00
“Walls will be repainted white before you move in”
“NO windows”


Williamsburg, Brooklyn. $750.00
“YOU CANNOT STAND UP”
(Floor 7½?)

I guess there are all sorts of things that can be tolerated, at least temporarily, in order to save money! But the other thing this site makes me think about is raising the rent on my tenants! If someone can charge $750 for dumpy rooms like those, I think I could be doing a lot better than $2k for a nice two-bedroom in a perfectly nice, if less hipster-ish location!

4 comments:

Crystal said...

Wow...things like this make me appreciate our housing in Houston. And my tenant should appreciate her 1750 sq. ft. home for $1200 more too, lol. :-)

Betsy said...

I once was offered a linen closet that could fit a futon in NYC-cannot remember the rent, but really? Needless to say, I didn't move in, and never managed to settle down in NYC!

OC Budget said...

I have a small condo (930 SF) but it's not the small space that bothers me. I actually really love the fact that i don't have to clean as much and it helps me pare down on posessions alot (helps with shopping urges..no space!).

BUT

I guess i was unlucky and got a new neighbor who smokes constantly downstairs on his patio, which the wind brings directly into my bedroom.

In southern california, to be able to leave windows or doors open (while you're in the condo) during these hot summer months is so important on reducing my electric bill (no ac) and air circulation.

This is the only reason why i want a small house with a medium sized yard...so that my neighbors can do whatever they want without polluting my space and I can do the same vice versa.

Anonymous said...

The small space and you can't stand up seems ridiculous to me.